Clean Up Rewrite
by cam94509
Summary: I'm uninspired, so I decided to rewrite this story. It's quite a bit different this time. Takari, as always.
1. Yes

Clean Up Rewrite:

Prologue: Yes

A/N: The Title Clean Up is no longer apt, as it now takes place three years later. I don't know why, but this sounds best to me in the present tense.

Takeru Takashi picks his cellphone up off his desk, and holds it at arms length, grimacing at it. All the while, he fidgets with a pendant around his neck.

The pendant has a symbol on it, and to the boy, the symbol means, and is, Hope. He's tempted to reminisce over the pendant and it's long history. It had been three years since he'd since the world that had been the pendant's source.

But he has more important things to do. More important things to do that were more difficult than anything he could ever reminisce over. This was saying something, because he'd risked his life to save two worlds before. And after he'd done it the first time, he'd done it again.

But that kind of bravery comes naturally to the boy. The courage required here, that is, the courage required to ask Hikari Kamiya to tomorrow's dance, was something else entirely, and it doesn't come naturally at all.

So here he stands, grimacing at a cellphone he held at arms length, nervous as cell, and TOTALLY unsure of what he is going to say. He opens the cellphone, and dials the first two numbers of the girls phone number.

And then he closes the phone. _What if she isn't near her cellphone? What if she'd preferred to be asked in person?What if she says no? What if it hurts us as friends? _The boy thinks

_It doesn't matter._ He decides, and then, with a firm resolve, but not such a firm grip on his phone, he hesitantly dials the girls number and, with a trembling hand, presses "talk"

The phone rang a few times. The boy's nervousness increases.

"Hello?" Kari asks, apparently breathless, as if she's just run up a flight of stairs to get to her cellphone.

"I was thinking-" He begins

She cuts him off playfully, "That's a first."

"We should go to tomorrow's dance together. As a couple." He continues, undeterred, "If that's something-"

"Are you finally asking me out?"She asks, cutting him off again.

"Yes." It's tough to say that, even though he's been trying to say it the whole time he's been on the phone with her.

"Then yes, I will."


	2. Dance

CH 1: Dance

A/N: Apparently I am cursed to write the prologue of Clean Up late at night, so it never QUITE sounds right. Oh well, this chapter really felt right in my head.

_**8:53 PM. **_

The chilled night air bites at T.K's cheek as he stands in front of his high school. He looks at his watch, wondering where Kari is. He stands towards the edge of a massive crowd in front of the door.

Finally, the girl arrives, panting as she runs toward the school.

"Your normally earlier." T.K says, smiling.

"Sorry, had to finish a homework problem before I was aloud to leave."

"Really? Or were you thinking about chickening out?"

"N-No." She says, blushing, and T.K knows she's lying, "Besides, who's the chicken? I'm not the one who had a canned speech at 8:30 trying to ask someone out... and not even in person! I'd say you're the chicken."

"At least had _I _the courage to actually ask.. You asked if I was _finally_ asking you out, meaning that you'd wanted to ask me out for a while... and never had the courage to do it!"

She laughs, "Maybe I am a chicken... But then, you're quite a perv... Dating a farm animal, I mean? Seriously?"

"Hey, some people like party animals, I like farm animals! What's so wrong about that?" He asks, laughing as well.

"Yeah, whatever." She says, "Why did you have to be right, anyway? I mean, about me chickening out."

"I've known you for forever... I know when you're lying."

"Sorry. I won't do that again."

"It's alight." He says, throwing his arms around her.

"Aww! That's so CUTE!" Yolie says.

As T.K releases her, Kari blushes, "Alright, you've had you're payback, now I'll kill you if you say anything like that again."

"Payback?" T.K asks, confused.

"I teased her when she and Ken started going out. She threatened revenge. I didn't know she'd followed through." Kari answers his question, and turns towards Yolie, "Speaking of Ken, where is he? I haven't seen you two apart for a while."

"He's talking to Davis. Davis never really got over you, and so he needs some moral support... Because Davis doesn't want to be a total prick." Yolie explains.

Kari looks at her toes, "I hate this... It's hard for everyone. I just want to be able to choose for myself, but Davis' hopeless attraction to me makes me feel guilty!"

T.K frowns, not sure what to say, but luckily for him, Yolie says what needs to said.

"Don't worry about it. It's not your fault."

"It's not Davis' fault, either."

"It's possible to move on." Yolie says, looking at her boyfriend in a way that's surprising loathing, "Hard, and you may not ever fully get over them, but it's possible."

By unspoken agreement, Kari just nods, knowing Yolie is remembering when Ken was the Digimon emperor. The door to the school finally opens, and T.K and Kari walk through the dense crowd, each showing the ASB administrator at the door their photo I.D. before entering.

The gymnasium pulses with loud music, shakes with a chaos of lights, and throngs with masses of teens. Davis just can't sync with the feeling of party in the air, though. As he expected, the girl has finally chosen T.K over him. He's always known it was just a matter of time, but he hadn't expected that it would hurt this much when it actually happens.

Still, Ken is right. He knows it isn't fair for him to take it out on T.K or Kari, and he knows that he's going to have to get over it eventually... but that doesn't make it easier to cope with.

"And anyways, it's not like he knows anything about heartbreak anyway." Davis mutters to himself, looking at Yolie leaning on Ken's shoulder. But even with this visual as the backdrop of his thought, Davis' words ring hollow in his own ears because he knows that Ken's own brother died, so he knows heartbreak far better than Davis.

Still the sentiment, which is that Ken doesn't know anything about heartbreak when it comes to romantic love is still accurate as far as Davis knows. It doesn't really matter, though, because he also knows that Ken's advice is sound: Don't let it get you down TOO much, and give up on the girl. She's not worth the pain.

The music changes, and the D.J announces that this is the first slow song. Davis leaves the gymnasium for the hallway where refreshments are being sold. Anything to get away from the music.

T.K stands up, and asks Kari, "Shall we dance?", smiling slightly at his own unnecessary formality... and really, he doesn't need to ask.

"I don't know." She says, laughing, "I mean... I don't know if I'm worthy of you."

He laughs as he places his hands on her shoulders, "You blaspheme against yourself."

They begin to dance a simple two step to the music, and Kari smiles, "Hardly. You're the best person I've ever known."

"Only if you don't count yourself."

"Hardly. You've saved me from my own emotions" The girl says.

"As may be, there are plenty of times when I couldn't have done something without you."

"Ha. The only thing I know better than you is what it means like someone."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You can't possibly like me as much as I like you."

"True. I like you MORE."

"Whatever."

The music changes, and the couple step apart, sitting down.

Davis hears the change, and re-enters the room. Ken and Yolie are staring into one another's eyes intensely, in a moment so private that he has to look away. He refuses to look at, or even think about his other two long time friends who are here.

_Two hours, thirty minutes more. _He thinks, _Then it's over, and I can go home. _

_ Two hours thirty minutes is, what? 150 minutes? 150 minutes is... 6 times 15, so 90, 90 times 100, 9,000 seconds. Doesn't seem so long when I put it like that. Of course, I feel like a complete nerd doing math outside of class, but really, can anyone blame me for it?_

He leaves the room, and takes a pen out of his pocket and begins doodling on a napkin he takes from where concessions are being sold, or at least, he TRYS to doodle on. However, the napkin rips.

"Just my luck." Davis mutters, throwing the napkin away.

"Hey, what's wrong?" One of Davis' friends, Shaun, asks.

"Girl problems."

"And this is new?"

"No... but she finally chose the other guy over me."

"Sucks. I know what it's like."

"Sure... I feel like I've wasted three years of my life, though."

"To be honest, you really haven't lost as much as many people would tell you, they only say it's glorious because they don't want to make their partners mad. Relationships are held together by guilt as much as love, and they take up so much time that they get in the way of other hobbies... or at least, that's my experience." Shaun says.

"Thanks... I guess. Doesn't make the pain of being told no any better... Especially if you get told 'No' in a way that has any sense of finality.'

"Seriously, it doesn't." Shaun admits, laughing slightly, "But I figured it was worth a try."

"Thanks anyway." Davis did feel slightly better, not because Shaun's words had been meaningful, but because he knew that despite feeling like his life was in absolute crisis, nothing had really changed. He had plenty of friends who could help him, and really, the girl had never liked him.

"It's the least I could do. You should get back in there. No use in sitting around, right?"

"Right."

**thirty minutes after midnight**

"Here is where our paths part." T.K said, frowning.

"For tonight, at least." Kari said, looking him in the eyes.

"I'll call you tomorrow."

"You'd better."

As the embrace broke, T.K whispered, "I love you, Kari."

"I love you too." She replied.

As she walked off, T.K felt a feeling of overwhelming sadness, and then another wave of overwhelming joy. She'd said she loved him. He'd held her in his own arms.


End file.
